When I first discovered art quilting, heavily encrusted, beaded quilts were very popular due to a revival of crazy quilting. For a while, paint, needle felting, and fabric manipulation became more popular as surface embellishment--and that's still true. But I see beaded embellishments are making...

Where do you get your inspiration for art quilts ? Quilting artists get asked that question all the time. Most artists I know have keen powers of observation. They take in the patterns of bricks and grids in the city, the shapes and colors of the garden, and the unusual (to them) motifs and architecture...

Hello, and welcome to stop 4 on our week-long Ho-Ho-Holiday Gift Guide for Quilters! Today I'm sharing some of my favorite gift ideas to make for your friends and family, as well as gifts for quilters that would be welcome at your guild's holiday party swap--or under your own tree. To add to...

You don't have to have scores of computerized embroidery stitches on your sewing machine to create beautiful machine embroidery designs. Just a few stitches and tutorials from free-motion embroidery experts will allow you to achieve the artistry you're looking for. In our free eBook including...

At our show-and-tell circle at the Quilting Arts-Stitch-Cloth Paper Scissors offices this week, Stitch Editor Amber Eden showed us a spread in a major fashion magazine that revealed quilting is a fashion trend. Free-motion machine embroidery by Bianca Mandity, featured in Cloth Paper Scissors Nov./Dec...

In my book, there are few fiber art projects that can't be improved with a little hand embroidery . Hand stitches add interest, texture, and the personal touch of the artist. Handwork can be used to create a focal point, move the eye around the piece, and emphasize lines, plus it's fun and relaxing...

While Vivika is on medical leave, we're revisiting some of her most popular posts and guest bloggers are pitching in, too. Today, we're featuring this post on how Barb Forrister creates lifelike flowers with machine embroidery techniques. ~The Quilting Daily Team Flowers created with machine...

Whether by hand or machine, there is an endless array of patterns and designs to enhance your quilts. Laura Wasilowski starts out with tips for adding hand stitches to abstract quilt blocks for texture and style. Then, Angela Walters introduces the "tiles" quilt design in free motion. We finish...

When I first laid eyes on Dijanne Cevaal's "Blue Travelers' Blanket," a rich example of appliqué quilting , I fell in love with it. 'Travelers' Blanket' (detail), shows the hand appliqué work of artist Dijanne Cevaal. (Photos by Tony Summers) First, I loved...

During almost a year of sharing quilting ideas with you via the Quilting Daily blog, I've noticed something interesting: circles are popular. Whether the circles are sewn with hand stitching or machine quilting doesn't matter. Every time I write about circle motifs, the post gets a big response...

Idle hands were frowned upon in my house when I was growing up. There was always something to do. If I wanted to watch TV (and I wanted to watch TV!), I had to be doing something productive at the same time. So I would sit down with either knitting or embroidery , and watch to my heart's content...

We're just a week away from the deadline of our current reader challenge , "From Sketch to Art Quilt," and I can't wait to see the results from our talented readers. (You still have time to submit!) "Squirrely Treasures" by Cami A. Weaver I entered my first reader challenge...

Echo quilting is a sewing technique that can add lush texture to art quilts. It is one of those quilting techniques that can take some practice and patience to learn, but it's well worth the effort. And a bit easier to do if you know a few tricks of the trade. Nancy G. Cook uses a dense echo quilting...

Machine and hand embroidery are the hallmarks of art quilt design and construction. Depending on the stitch and the thread or fiber used, embroidery techniques can give your quilts a contemporary edge or vintage charm. In this free eBook, Essential Embroidery Stitches: Free Hand and Machine Embroidery...

I first became aware of Elin Waterston through the Quilting Arts reader challenges, particularly our annual calendar contests. Very quickly, our team came to recognize Elin's distinctive brand of well-thought-out, uncluttered design featuring a strong focal point. Since then, Elin has written articles...